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MST3K 523 - Village of the Giants
The Movie Synopsis For those who thought "Catalina Caper" was just way, way too ethnically diverse comes VOTG, made in the height of the apartheid era in southern California. You've seen them: Giant ants, giant spiders, giant grasshoppers, giant praying mantises. (Yawn). What else ya got? Now experience the ultimate in horror with... giant teenagers! Or giant WASP's, maybe. A kid named Genius (Howard) accidentally invents a substance that causes all animal life to grow. Genius's sister Nancy and her cardigan-wearing boyfriend Mike (an uncomfortable-looking Tommy Kirk) see the money-making potential in the substance (dubbed "Goo") and plan to sell it to "make a million bucks" (think of the cardigans that would buy!). Oh yeah, and it might increase the food supply. Unfortunately, a greedy young cardigan-wearing opportunist (Bridges) and the group of delinquents he hangs around with are inspired to steal the Goo and use it for their own purposes. They soon change their minds and rashly decide to eat it themselves. They grow to gigantic proportions and temporarily take over the set town. The blackmailing (and ultimately dead) milkman from "Tormented" (Joe Turkel) rounds out the cast. Information *Based loosely on Based on an the general idea presented in the H.G. Wells book The Food of the Gods. *"The Beau Brummels" and Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon make musical guest appearances. http://www.answers.com/topic/village-of-the-giants *As the giant teens rampage through residential streets, look closely and you’ll see the Cleaver’s house from TV’s “Leave It To Beaver” and the Stevens’ house from TV’s “Bewitched” *Several of the outdoor shots during the showdown between tiny Tommy Kirk and big Beau Bridges were filmed on the "Courthouse Square" set made famous in the Back to the Future series. *The sexy red-headed dancer is played by Toni Basil, best known for her 1982 hit song "Hey Mickey." *The dark haired giant named Rick was played by none other than Robert Random, the overzealous brown noser in Being from Another Planet. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Mike and the Bots do their annual workout. As Mike says, "If you can't take 30 minutes out of every year, you don't deserve a hot date!" Segment One: Mike and the Bots put all sorts of strange items into a juicer before contacting the Mads. Dr. Forrester makes the announcement that they're making cutbacks down in Deep 13, and orders TV's Frank to fire...TV's Frank!? Yep, Frank's been given the ol' heave-ho. Segment Two: Now that he's fired, Frank lounges around Deep 13 in his underwear, watching TV. Meanwhile, Dr. Forrester interviews Torgo, the former servant of the Master and former pizza delivery man, and hires him. Segment Three: Frank's taken up refuge in the storage closet in Deep 13 to keep Dr. F. from kicking him out. Mike and the Bots pretend to interview Frank so he’ll be eligible for unemployment benefits. Segment Four: Frank's got his stuff packed, and is ready to go, but not before bidding Mike & the Bots adieu. However, the SOL crew is not that heartless, and sing a song to the former aide, titled "The Greatest Frank of Them All" (alongside a montage of clips of Frank put together by Cambot). The song energizes Frank, and so begins his plans to oust Torgo. Segment Five: As Mike and the Bots go through letters supporting Frank, Frank talks to Torgo, telling the goat-legged fellow that he won fair and square, and gives him some advice that will "make Dr Forrester really happy". Of course, Frank's underhanded scheme gets Torgo ejected, and Frank has his job back - though of course, the little stunt he pulled means that Dr Forrester is going to have to kill him now. Stinger: A tribute to the late, great Frank Zappa. Other Notes Guest Stars *''Torgo'': Michael J. Nelson Miscellanea *'Unusual credits': "The Greatest Frank of All" is played instead of "Mighty Science Theater". Obscure References *"They're dancing near a collapsed star!" A star may shrink from a (roughly, as an example) 900,000-mile diameter to as small as (say) twenty miles across when it collapses. If its mass is great enough, it may become a black hole. As one approaches any mass the gravitational field intensifies, and, to an outside observer, clocks slow down as gravity increases; therefore, the dancers would appear to move slower. The effect is greatly intensified for greatly compacted bodies. *Dr. Forrester's parting gift for Frank is an action figure from the Coneheads movie. *''"The extra E is for extra Levine!"'' :There was a famous TV ad campaign on New York City cable during the '80s for a phone sex line featuring "watersports". The number was 970-PEEE; their slogan was "The extra 'E' is for extra PEE!" *''"You could learn a lot from a dummy."'' :During the 1990s, a series of public-service announcements promoting the use of seat belts featured the comical misadventures of a pair of living crash-test dummies, and used the slogan "You could learn a lot from a dummy." *''"Unused footage from 'The Piano'."'' :The Piano was a 1993 film about a mute woman living in 19th-century New Zealand. *''"This is Tommy Kirk really acting!"'' :In spite of his great success as an actor working for Disney, Tommy Kirk was sadly let go from the company when his homosexuality was discovered. The company seems to have retracted their stance as of late, however, naming him as a Disney Legend in 2006. *''"I hope that blows up in his face so I don't have to see 'Willow'!"'' :Willow was a 1988 fantasy movie directed by Ron Howard. *''"Mein Fuhrer, I can walk!"'' :A line spoken by the title character in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. It is the very last line of the movie, in fact. *''"Hey, Thomasina!"'' :A reference to the live-action Disney movie The Three Lives of Thomasina. *''"The Million Dollar Ducks!!"'' :A reference to the live-action Disney movie The Million Dollar Duck. *''"Or Jim J. Bullock?"'' :Actor Jim J. Bullock is best known for playing Monroe Ficus on the 1980s sitcom Too Close for Comfort. *''"What sin could a duck commit in a single lifetime..."'' :Paraphrases a line spoken by the title character in The Amazing Colossal Man. *''"Lucas McCain, tha-at's his kid..."'' :Lucas McCain was the hero of the Western TV series The Rifleman. Johnny Crawford played his son on the show. *''"Howard the Duck, Behind the Green Door!"'' :Howard the Duck is a Marvel Comics character who became the subject of a failed movie in 1986. Behind the Green Door was a pornographic film originally released in 1972. *''"...on 'Acapulco H.E.A.T.'!"'' :Acapulco H.E.A.T. was a TV series that aired in first-run syndication during the 1990s. *''"Hmmm, what to do about Clint..."'' :Ron Howard's brother Clint is a prolific B-movie actor, and occasionally appears in films directed by his more successful sibling. *''"Darkboy!"'' :Darkman was a 1990 movie about a disfigured scientist who becomes a superhero. *''"Charlie, they took my thumbs..."'' :A quote from the 1984 film The Pope of Greenwich Village. *''"Back, and to the left."'' :A quote from Oliver Stone's JFK. *''"Ziggy Stardust!"'' :A reference to the David Bowie album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars". *''"C'mon, surrender the pink!"'' :Surrender the Pink is a novel written by Carrie Fisher. *''"Hey, Cthulhu!"'' :Cthulhu is a fictional evil god that originated in the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. *''"It's going into Charles Bukowski's sink!"'' :American writer Charles Bukowski had a reputation as a heavy drinker. *''"Hey, an article by William Safire!"'' :William Safire was a presidential speechwriter for Richard Nixon, and is a longtime New York Times columnist. *''"We'll get us a hostage of our own!" "Terry Anderson!"'' :Terry Anderson was one of several Americans held hostage by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon beginning in 1985. *''"Giant steps are what you take..."'' :A line from the Police song "Walking on the Moon". *''"Oh look, Ed Gein's the driver!"'' :Ed Gein, a serial killer arrested in Minnesota in 1957, became infamous for making clothing and furniture from his victims' remains. *''"Eldridge Cleavage!"'' :A punning reference to former black militant Eldridge Cleaver. *''"By this time my son's lungs were aching for air!"'' :A reference to Sea Hunt, in which Beau Bridges' father Lloyd was a deep-sea diver. *''"The shamed cast of 'Terror of Tiny Town'..."'' :The Terror of Tiny Town was a 1938 Western movie with an all-little person cast. *''"Its like waking up, rolling over and seeing Jim Varney!"'' :Comic actor Jim Varney was best known for playing the character Ernest P. Worrell. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 5 Category:Teen Exploitation